It is no secret that Dallas has a problem with obesity, with studies showing the Dallas region has above-average rates of overweight and obese residents.
Dallas food banks are looking to help by offering healthier options and guidance for residents who want to improve their health.
Kelseanna Hollis-Hansen, an assistant professor in the Peter O’Donnell Jr. School of Public Health and author of a UT Southwestern pilot study on diet, said food pantries can be a way to create positive change in the diets of Dallas residents, particularly children.
“Understanding what nutrition interventions can be implemented through trusted community partners and which options are most desirable to the community members themselves can encourage engagement and lead to greater improvements in … diet quality,” said Hollis-Hansen, per Medical Xpress.
The Dallas Express reported on a study in 2022 that found Dallas ranking as the 19th most obese and overweight metro region in the United States. A follow-up study in 2023 found that, as a whole, Texas ranked 12th most obese and overweight in the country. The study found that nearly 36% of adult Texans are overweight.
Hollis-Hansen partnered with Crossroads Community Services, a large food pantry in Dallas, to provide meal prep kits and no-prep meals to 66 families. The study was conducted over a period of 14 days and initially included 70 participating families. The families completed the study. Results indicated that providing meal kits and no-prep meals improved families’ thoughts about the nutritious quality of their meals.
The North Texas Food Bank (NTFB) has initiated a program called “Nudge Pantries.” The program seeks to educate people about food pantries to help them make healthy food choices to improve nutrition and make healthier foods more attractive. Nudge Pantries are based on research conducted through Cornell University.
“To date, we have helped 56 of our feeding partners to become nudge pantries, including our first college pantry at the University of North Texas at Dallas,” a statement from NTFB reads. “At our feeding partners, nudges might look like recipe cards in English and Spanish placed near a healthy food choice; nutrition education handouts and brochures; signage shelf tags to indicate a food’s beneficial health quality; food demonstrations and sampling; and more.”
Data shows that lower-income families often struggle with obesity, which leads to a broad variety of health problems, including heart disease, joint pain, and diabetes.
